Miss Bonnified here with a somewhat interesting bar of soap to try out.

As you may know from my previous post, I got really really sunburned. My skin from the neck down still hasn’t exactly recuperated. I’m tired of seeing cracked skin and feeling like I’m stretched out like a drum.

Enter Ever Bamboo Face + Body Bar to the rescue. If you’ve been reading my blog (more specifically, this entry about coconut oil), you’ll know I’ve been fixated on this stuff for a little while.

I figured it might be a good time to treat my skin to the same stuff I’m gulping down in my morning smoothies. Here’s some initial pictures of the product and some thoughts.

image taken by me and property of missbonnified.com
Sideways view of the packaging.

I got this size because I wasn’t sure if I would like it. I figured a travel sized bar would be good to try out for a few weeks.

image from missbonnified.com
Yes, the soap is black.

The soap really is this color. No, this is not a trick. That’s because it’s made out of bamboo charcoal.

From Frizzy2Silky’s website, here’s a brief description of the product :

Bamboo Charcoal Face + Body Bar restores the natural beauty of your skin by purifying, exfoliating, moisturizing, detoxifying, and absorbing impurities. Bamboo Charcoal has a negative ionic charge that also helps stimulate blood flow and has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Each bar is handmade to perfection and is fabulous for sensitive as well as problem skin. With daily use, you will truly appreciate the improved radiance, texture and tone of your skin.

Bamboo vinegar, a byproduct created during the process that turns bamboo into bamboo charcoal, is known as chikusaku in Japan. It’s been used as a topical treatment for a wide variety of ailments. This is not the edible kind of vinegar, in case you’re wondering. I liked the part where it’s supposed to soften skin.

Coconut acid is the part that caught my eye. Used in small amounts, this is great for sensitive skin and even children’s skin. It has anti-inflammatory properties. Coconut oil is very moisterizing.

Lavender smells divine and is very calming. Actually, the more I sniff this soap, the more I’m convinced that there’s also a….a…woodsy, evergreen-y oil too. I could be wrong.

All in all, the smell reminds me of what would happen if a lavender field made a baby with a Christmas tree. Weird analogy, I know, but that’s what it reminds me of.

In my next review, I’ll be going into detail about what it was like to use it.

If you can’t wait for my thoughts about this and want to try it NOW, use coupon code BONNIE10 at checkout to save yourself 10%.

Till next time!

I’m back from my most awesome honeymoon in TAHITI! It was absolutely beautiful. If you ever have a chance to go, DO IT!! There really is no place in the world like the islands of Tahiti. Moorea and Bora Bora, I’m looking at you.

Now that I’ve been there once, I now know what to pack next time. One of the products that made the Honeymoon Cut is is Clinical’s Hydra-Cool Serum.

image from isclinical dot ie

Frizzy2Silky’s site describes the product as follows :

* Provides penetrating hydration
* Calms, soothes, and cools irritated skin
* Reduces mild acneic symptoms
* Offers antioxidant protection

Exactly what I needed in order to brave the scorching Tahitian sun! It was light enough not to ever make me feel like an oil slick and yet my skin never dried out. I tend to break out with cystic acne so I was little worried when I had to slather on sunscreen every 2 hours. Religiously applying this every day BEFORE the sunscreen helped me avoid breakouts.

Another great use for this stuff beautifully blue hued elixir of awesomeness?

Soothing my sunburn!! I grew up in Hawaii so I’m no stranger to the tropical sun. However, Tahiti’s sun is BRUTAL. I fried. I’m still peeling. It’s now past the middle of March. We came home at the end of February.

I applied your standard, generic brand aloe vera to the burns on my back, my arms, my legs….basically, everywhere from the neck down. I applied iS Clinical’s Hydra-Cool to my face. Guess which part of my body isn’t peeling? That’s right. My FACE. Now if only iS Clinical came out with something for the entire body….

I know this stuff is a little pricey but it’s worth it. A few drops of this magical blue serum is enough for your entire face. Generally, a 0.5 ounce bottle will last me about 2-3 months if I apply it everyday in the morning. It’s $55 for a 0.5 fluid ounce or do what I do and pay $90 for a 1.0 fluid ounce bottle.

As always, use coupon code BONNIE10 and save yourself 10% off your entire order.

Till next time, Beauty Queens!

Just so there’s no confusion, Deborah Lippmann and I will be going with my husband on our honeymoon. However, Deborah Lippmann, the PERSON, will not be accompanying us. Deborah Lippmann, NAIL POLISH BRAND, will be! Hooray!

Yes, I said “honeymoon”. By the time you read this, I will be in TAHITI on my honeymoon. Hopefully, I will also be lounging around and soaking up the sun versus cooped up in my bungalow as the skies rain down on my head.

So let’s hope for the former, shall we?

I’m packing up all my stuff and I noticed that my nails are looking positively ratty. This will not do for a honeymoon in what, quite arguably, is the most romantic place on Earth!

It was time for me to take matters, literally, into my own hands.

From Left to Right – Like A Virgin and Bring On The Bling.
I love anything with the words “bring on” and “bling”.

I love Deborah Lippmann polishes. There is a reason why she’s famous and mingles with Hollywood’s finest. Her polishes apply well, dry quickly and resist chipping like nobody’s business.

I know because I tried “Prelude To A Kiss” for a few weeks before the wedding. I was running around the ICU like a chicken without a head and STILL my nail polish did not chip. This stuff is awesome.

Seeing as how I’ve never been to Tahiti, I figured something named “Like A Virgin” is more than suitable for my intents and purposes. Plus, it’s such a beautiful, crisp white color that’s perfect for scampering around in a tropical paradise.

One coat of “Like A virgin” really won’t do much as it’s pretty transparent. It took me three thin coats to get a nice crisp, clean white color. After that, I applied one coat of “Bring On The Bling” to give my nails some subtle sparkle. After all, nothing says “honeymoon” like “my nails are blinging out like there’s diamonds on them!”

Yes, you heard me correctly. “Bring On The Bling” is a clear polish with beautiful flecks of real diamond powder. Hence, the subtle sparkle.

Now how awesome is that? Bring On The Bling works well with any shade of nail polish. It gives darker colored nail polish an interesting twist. Next time, I’ll be showing you what it looks like over something a little darker and richer in hue. $20 a pop isn’t cheap BUT consider the following :

• A little goes a LONG way. Remember, you’re going for SUBTLE, not in-your-face bedazzle.

• Where else are you going to get real bits of diamonds on your nails?
• Just sayin’.

That’s me! All ready for some fun in the South Pacific sun!

An alternative route for using this polish besides on honeymoon escapades is for your wedding. If you looked at my pictures and wondered why the bottles look a bit on the smaller side, it’s because I picked up a trio of Deborah Lippmann polishes as part of a set called “Princess Bride”.

I tested them out for my wedding and, I have to say, they’re a pretty good choice. Not only are the colors wedding friendly in a traditional way (pale pinks and white) but they resist chipping like nobody’s business. Believe me when I say that will come in handy. You don’t want chipped nails in your wedding pictures. Heck to the n-o.

If you would like to pick up a bottle of either of these, remember to use checkout code BONNIE10 to receive 10% off your entire order.

Till next time, Beauty Queens!

Any resolutions for the year of the Water Dragon? I got one for you – banish dry, flaky skin on my hands!

On a normal day, the skin on my face is oily enough to grease a griddle (sexy, I know) but the skin on my hands can get pretty dry. This is because, by day, I am a Registered Nurse in an intensive care unit. What that means for my hands is that they can look forward to taking a beating every day I’m at work. I put on latex gloves, rip them off, rub alcohol onto them to disinfect them and then wash them with a very un-gentle soap. I do this at least twice every hour and I work 12 hour shifts.

You can imagine the kind of damage done to my poor hands. In case you can’t, here’s a picture.

Super dry hand is super sad hand.

Yes, I know I’m white enough to glow in the dark. Yes, I know this makes it harder for you to see what I’m trying to point out to you. However, if you can direct your gaze (assuming you’re not blinded by my epic paleness) to the part of my hand above my pointer finger knuckle, you can see where there are white flakes coming off of my skin.

That’s how dry I got. I’ve tried everything. I tried shea body butters, body butters with Dead Sea minerals….but nothing worked.

Here’s another picture of the dry, flaky skin hand.
Ugh. Yuck. So sad….

And then the proverbial light bulb went off in my head. I got my hands on some Philessential capsules and read up on them. Btw, if you like Dermalogica Age Smart Multivitamin Power Concentrate but don’t like the hefty price tag, give these Philessential babies a whirl.

courtesy of Frizzy2Silky

Here’s a brief exerpt from the Frizzy2Silky site :

Each Philessential Antioxidant Serum capsule delivers natural Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, antioxidants and complexion-friendly oils that helps minimize the signs of skin aging and promotes the appearance of incredibly silky-smooth, naturally-glowing skin!

- Anti-aging properties: Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Protects against free radical damage and environmental stress.
- Promotes increased hydration: Naturally enhance hydration and strengthen skin’s protective barrier.
- Enhances youthful appearance: Helps produce nature collagen, improve firmness, elasticity and radiance.
- Helps improve skin tone: Instantly retexturizes for noticeably softer, brighter, smoother looking skin.

Preservative free and artificial fragrance free AND no testing on animals? Nice.

Granted, the skin on my hands don’t look old yet (thank the powers that be) but they were looking super dry, scaly, flaky, uber gross and extremely dull.

I figured “Oh, what the hell. What have I got to lose” and I twisted the cap off of one of the capsules.

Good things apparently come in small, heart shaped capsules.

Here, in order, were my thoughts as I was squeezing the contents of these deceptively small capsules on to the back of my left hand :

• “Hm…that’s not a lot of product. How is this supposed to cover someone’s FACE if it doesn’t look like it’ll cover the back of ONE hand?! What a rip off.”

• Wow, it smells really good! Like….unsweetened lemonade. Sharp, zingy and tangy. I kind of want to taste it….but I won’t.”
• “Holy good God, this stuff is oily!”
• “Wow….a little bit goes a long way….”
• “Hm….interesting. It was oily beyond belief when I first squeezed it on my hand but now it doesn’t feel oily at all! Imagine that.”
• “….wow….my hands aren’t oily. It’s like the skin just sucked this stuff up. Crazy.”
• “….oooOOohhh….my hands feel so soft and smell so nice!” *sniff * sniff * sniff *

I’m not very good at remembering to pamper my hands everyday so I’ve only used 7 capsules over 21 days.

I have to say, this stuff is amazing. My hands are no longer dry and flaky. They went from dull to sort of normal. I’m sure the “sort of normal” would be more like “vibrant and beautiful” if I was more diligent with using this every day. However, what my hands look like now is a huge improvement over what it looked like a few weeks ago.

Actually, when I remembered to put it on every other day, my hands were beautiful. They were smooth and silky with no dead, flaky bits of dead skin to be seen!

As for the small amount contained per capsule, let me tell you that it was enough to cover BOTH hands from front to back and even some of my arms just above the wrist.

Good things come in small packages!

No more flaky, dry skin!!

Beauty Queens with dry skin! If this stuff can do all this for my beat up hands, imagine what it can do for the dry skin on your face!

Act now because there’s a Buy One, Get One Free promotion going on now!! There’s even one with free shipping!

This is for a trial 1 week supply. $5 gets you 7 capsules on a normal day…but now it will get you 14 for a limited time!! There is a limit of 3 per customer.

This is for a 30 day supply $37.50 gets you a 30 day supply on a normal day…but now it will get you 60 DAYS WORTH for a limited time. There is a limit of 3 per customer.

Here’s the best deal of all. 60 capsules PLUS free shipping! Tell me 120 capsules at $75 with free shipping is not a great deal.

Each capsule is sealed, thus ensuring that its contents are not exposed to air which will decrease the effectiveness of the product. This, however, does not mean these will last forever so use them in a timely manner.

As always, use coupon code BONNIE10 upon checkout to save yourself an additional 10% on all orders!

Till next time!

How is everyone doing? Your hair holding up during Winter’s onslaught? Mine wasn’t…but it’s all better now!

Here’s how it all went downhill :

1. I permed my hair back in March 2011.
2. I colored it December 2011 for my wedding.
3. Between March and December, I’ve been abusing the bejeezus out of my locks with hot irons of all kinds and blasting my strands with the hair dryer.

I’ve been faithful to my beloved ISH One Minute Treatment and while it did the job conditioning my hair, another problem was rearing its head.

I have to wash my hair every day otherwise the roots get really oily and start to look like they could possibly dread themselves. I like my hair the way it is and want to keep it that way. I tried a bunch of shampoos and conditioners marketed for “oily hair” but none of them worked…and I finally figured out why.

The problem isn’t the oiliness of my hair. The problem was my scalp. So how to tame it while conditioning my damaged hair? It seemed like such an impossible task (remove the excess oil from my scalp while delivering rich conditioners to the tips each strand while only using one product) and I almost gave up.

I don’t even remember how I started looking up Clay Esthe but that doesn’t matter because I’ve discovered it.

Frizzy2Silky says it’s supposed to do the following :

Natural clay and deep sea minerals deeply cleanse buildup on hair and scalp. Excellent for thinning hair the clay shampoo unclogs oil and residues preventing new hair growth from deep within the follicle. Clarifies scalp problems, such as dandruff.

I had no idea how a product that’s supposed to deep cleanse while clarifying issues like dandruff is supposed to help with my oily scalp. That sounds like a tall order. More specifically, it didn’t even sound like it would work on oily scalps but at this point, I was desperate and willing to give it a shot (the Tanakura clay was what caught my attention. I love clay masks for my face).

Imagine my surprise when this stuff beat my oily scalp into submission. Imagine how far my jaw dropped when I realized I technically don’t have to wash my hair every day any more (but I still do. I like freshly washed hair).

My hair has never felt so soft, silky, bouncy and full of body. My nearly 1 year old perm now looks even better than before. I have never gotten so many compliments on my hair. Call me vain but people stop me to tell me how beautiful my hair looks at least once whenever I go to work.

image courtesy of moltobene.co.jp
The smallest bottle on the far left is the 350 ml size.
This shampoo comes in the professional salon size container with a pump.
I’m so totally going to get that once I’m done with my 350ml bottle.

The shampoo is pretty standard issue in terms of how you use it. It smells kind of mineral-y, clay-ish and something….earthy and herbal-y but not in an unpleasant way. Your hair doesn’t have a super perfumed scent to it when it’s dry but I kind of like that because it just smells clean and like yourself.

Image courtesy of moltobene.co.jp
The little jar is the 300 gram size that I have.
That little jar will seriously last me for a long, l-o-o-o-n-g time.

The clay pack is the real secret weapon. I use about a half dollar sized dollop every time I wash my hair. I spread some along my fingertips and work it into my scalp. Whatever is left over, I apply to the tips of my hair. I leave it alone for about 3 minutes (you’re supposed to leave it on for a total of 5 minutes).

During this time, I’ll wash my face and scrub myself down. I wish someone would’ve told me that your scalp will tingle because I didn’t know. I think I froze for a few seconds the first night because I wasn’t expecting that. It’s not a flat out burning sensation but more like a cooling, minty feel. It’s very refreshing, actually.

By the time I’m done rinsing myself off and fingercombing the product from my scalp through my tresses, it’s about 5 minutes and change. Time to rinse off. It rinses clean even though it feels like you’re sluicing custard from your hair. It really is that thick….but it leaves your hair GLORIOUS after just one use.

After getting over my shock, I decided to take a closer look at this miraculous pack. To be more specific, I wanted to look at the list of ingredients because I wanted to know what was responsible for all this fantasticness.

There are a lot of fascinating ones but I’m going more in depth about my two favorite ones.

Squalane

What the hell is this? Do you know? I didn’t so I had to look it up. It’s a fast-absorbed moisturizer that has antibacterial and antioxidant properties while promoting healthy cell growth. As if that’s not enough, it also blocks UV rays from damaging your hair.

Natural Clay

Actually, the clay used is known as Tanakura clay. This particular kind of clay is found in the deep sea by the Tanakura area of Japan. It’s especially good at removing excess oils while infusing the skin with nourishing deep sea minerals.

Nice. This is probably my favorite ingredient because I have an oily scalp that refuses to succumb to any product I’ve thrown its way.

Don’t just take my word for it. Try it yourself!

Here’s the link for the 350ml shampoo.

Here’s the link for the 300 gm treatment.

Yes, they’re pricey. Use coupon code BONNIE10 to get 10% off and try these products out for yourself. If you like them, you can always get the refills and save money by buying in bulk.

I personally do not mind spending the money on products that work. My hair is no longer frizzy and damaged looking at the tips. The roots of my hair look amazingly touchable and no longer make me cringe because it resembled an oil slick. My hair is touchably soft and my coworkers are amazed by the softness and healthy appearance. My husband is also loving how my hair looks.

I know the product description doesn’t say anything about being safe to use on colored hair but my hair color still looks rich and fresh.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Long time no see. Sorry for my prolonged absence. I had a wedding to plan and attend – my own. For all you ladies out there who have planned their wedding, you know the stress of those last 30 days leading up to the Big Day is unrivaled. Having never had a child, I can’t say which is more stressful. However, I have taken board certifications for nursing and I can honestly say that THIS gave me an ulcer. Studying, taking the boards and waiting for the results did not.

Go figure.

So how does that all tie together with pimples? I got major zits during these last 30 days. We’re talking monsters with more than 3 heads, angry purplish-reddish, protruding horrors that erupted ALL OVER my face!

I was not happy. So what’s a girl to do?

Easy. She goes for some the big kahuna in her arsenal and, for me, that’s iS Clinical’s Pro Heal Advance+ serum.

image from skinsolutionsinc.org

Not bad, right? I was particularly interested in the part where it’s been clinically proven to decrease inflammation within 48 hours. That’s exactly what I needed.

Yes, this stuff is on the pricier side but when you consider you don’t need to smooth this golden serum on your ENTIRE face, it’s not so bad. And it works.

I don’t normally share photos of me online in any blogs (well, not any more) but I figure if the proof is in the pudding and a picture is worth a thousand words, then these pictures will tell the whole story. The photo above was taken in late October. * sigh * This is what my face looked like. I had no make up on when this was taken. Well, I was wearing eyeliner but nothing on my skin. I don’t even know why I was grinning like a maniac because my FACE looks jacked up!

Do you see how BIG those things were on my face??!! And how much they stick out???!!! And how GROSS they were????!!! God, looking at these pictures make me almost want to cry. You can’t tell from the pictures but they hurt. Ugh. Why was I smiling again? This is definitely nothing to be happy about when you’re a stressed out bride!

Oh wait. I remember. It was because I just bought the 1 oz. bottle of iS Clinical’s Pro Heal Advance+ serum.

This was taken around mid November. Can you see the difference? I still had no makeup (besides eyeliner) on when this picture was taken nor did I have time to go for a facial yet. This was all from using iS Clinical products. I’ll write a separate review of all the ones I used.

The monster zits along my jaw and neck have flattened and the inflammation tamed. The large, multi-headed beast by my ear shrank and was cowed by the Pimple Killer serum. This grin was one of happiness indeed.

Nothing in my life had changed at this point. If anything, I was under more stress as I was juggling wedding planning along with a family member’s new diagnosis of cancer. You’d think my face would be an eruption of zits but it wasn’t.

Yes, this stuff is pretty pricey but it’s worth it. You can see from the pictures of my face how effective it is and I didn’t even remember to smooth this stuff on every night! I might’ve remembered two or three times a week….maybe four times if I was lucky.

Click here for the 0.5 fl.oz. of iS Clinical’s Pro Heal Advance+ serum.

Click here for the 1.0 fl. oz. of iS Clinical’s Pro Heal Advance+ serum.

Remember to use coupon code BONNIE10 at checkout to save 10% your entire order!

Till next time, Beauty Queens!

In the last post, she told me what her worst hair nightmare was and while I can’t make bad haircuts go away, I can give her some products to keep the frizz from her locks!

I recently chopped some inches off the ends of my hair. I’m happy to report I didn’t have a crazy EKG pattern snipped into it. Yes, this really happened to me. I went from thick, waist length hair with long bangs to shoulder length hair with an EKG looking wave form cut into the back. My bangs literally looked like a “M” and were super short.

I locked myself in my house for 2 days, cried and canceled on the music video I was supposed to be in. Talk about traumatic. Anyways, moving on!

So my hair is now happily a few inches shorter and MUCH healthier in appearance. I cut off all the frizzy, damaged ends so I no longer look fried. This is good.

This is also a great time for me to start experimenting with my hair for the wedding! My hair and makeup artist has picked out a few products for me to try. This is the one I’m eyeballing the hardest.

1. Loreal Professional Textureline Shine Spray

Image from frizzy2silky.com

This looks pretty interesting. I need all the help I can get to maintain my curls for the Big Day! Here’s to hoping this will keep those curls defined!

Posts about my hair will be coming up later!

Have a great day, Beauty Queens!

Miss Bonnified here! I have a song stuck in my head right now.

Aaannyywaaay, ….how’s everyone doing today? Your hair holding up in this heat wave and humidity? I’m in Los Angeles and I can honestly say my hair is freaking out. As you may recall, I reviewed B:OCE’s Shampoo and Treatment MC last time.

While it delivered on most of its promises, I need something that can tame the frizz that is threatening to ruin the beautiful curls from my digital perm.

Enter ISH Rescue and their HRC!

Don’t know what a HRC is? Don’t worry. I didn’t know either but I do now and I’m gonna share the information. HRC is short for Hair Renewal Crystals. The crystals are made from jojoba. Jojoba is one of the best natural and moisturizing ingredients for hair care.

The beauty of ISH Rescue is how their HRCs work. They’re activated by heat, magically melt into your hair follicles which is then ionically sealed with the moisturizing properties of jojoba.

Sounds great to me because the ambient heat in my shower + heat of my shower water is sufficient to unlock all this jojoba goodness on to my hair.

ISH Rescue Color-Lock Shampoo

Up first for review, the shampoo I tried.

image courtesy of ishrescue.com

Here’s a brief description of the product from frizzy2silky.com

Finally! The sulfate-free and salt-free natural shampoo you have been waiting for!

Active Ingredients:
- HRC (Hair Renewal Crystals)

So here’s the honest breakdown.

Bonnie Likes

• They’re not kidding on making the color stay.

• I got a gloss-sealant treatment on my permed hair with a light brown color to the gloss.
• The color of my hair is still a glossy light brown.

Bonnie Smash

• This shampoo doesn’t lather. That was kind of weird. I wasn’t expecting that.

• There’s also no scent to this shampoo either.

Despite no lather and no scent, my hair still felt relatively moisturized and clean. All in all, not a bad product if you know what to expect. The first day I used this, I went through almost 1/5 of the bottle because it didn’t lather and I didn’t know if I got enough shampoo through all of my hair.

Now I know better but I still felt like I needed to use more than I normally would use in terms of shampoo because I relied on the amount of lather to tell me how much shampoo I need to use.

ISH Rescue Ionic One Minute Treatment

image courtesty of ishrescue.com

Frizzy2silky.com‘s description of the product and directions of use :

Quick and Easy Intense Moisturizing Hair Treatment in One Minute!

Directions For Use:
Apply to clean and towel-dried hair. Set the ISH Ionic Rescue One Minute Treatment for one minute or apply heat for deep penetration. Style as usual.

Bonnie Likes

• I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!!

• It’s rich, it’s luxurious, it’s creamy.
• It tamed my frizzy hair. The humidity doesn’t even faze my perm now.
• It only takes one minute to work!
• I use my Clarisonic Sonic Skin Care thingy to wash my face and TA DA!!! It’s been a minute!
• One quarter-sized dollop is enough for my thick, waist length hair.
• Detangles my hair and I’m able to finger comb it in the shower when I’m rinsing it out.

Bonnie Smash

• Hm….there’s nothing I don’t like about it.

• If I have to pick on something, I guess it would be the lack of a strong scent.
• But, then again, why is that a bad thing? It’s not. So, no, there’s nothing I dislike about it.

While you can apply this to towel dried hair, I didn’t use it in this way. I only applied it when I was in the shower and then rinsed it off.

That brings me to this month’s giveaway!

One lucky winner will win a FULL SIZED ISH Rescue Shampoo AND…wait for it…a FULL SIZED ISH Rescue Ionic One Minute Treatment!

This prize retails at over $48.00.

So here are the rules :

1. Leave me a comment about your worst hair disaster.
2. Make sure you include your email address so that I can contact you!
3. As usual, I will not sell your information. I just need to make sure I can get your prize to you!
4. Winners will be announced in the next post in 2 weeks.

You can also purchase both products here. Don’t forget to use coupon code BONNIE10 at checkout to save yourself 10% off your order!

Good luck, beauty queens, and see you guys next time.

I wasn’t and so this post is born.

I’m getting married this December and my Asian hair is the kind of stubborn Asian hair that won’t curl for beans. I want curls on my wedding day. Therefore, I had no choice but to Digital Perm it into submission. I won the battle and the war but not without suffering a few casualties in the form of frizz and unruliness.

I did a lot of research into what kind of perm I wanted….but I didn’t do a lot of research into how to take care of my perm. Oops.

After freaking out for a solid 2 weeks using drugstore brands with disastrous results, I finally grew a few brain cells and decided to do the smart thing – get my hands on salon quality products.

Up for review first – Japan’s MoltoBene’s B:OCE MC Shampoo and Treatment

image courtesy of moltobene.co.jp

These products are designed for naturally curly, wavy and frizzy hair. They smell GREAT! If you’re a sucker for products that smell good and you have naturally occurring frizzy and/or curly hair, then you should give these products a try.

If I had to describe them, it reminds me of Japanese candy. It especially reminds me of the kind of candy that comes in those round tins. The scent is sparkly and fruity. I loved it.

Molto Bene B:OCE MC shampoo and treatment works naturally curly, wavy and/or frizzy hair by balancing moisture, detangling and preventing frizz thereby transforming it into silky and glossy hair.

How do these products work such magic, you ask? Simple. Natural plant proteins and sugars prevent your hair from absorbing unnecessary extra moisture from the air (especially on humid days. Yuck) which then stops your hair from freaking out and frizzing out of control. The end result? Your hair should be noticeably softer, more manageable and shinier. It’s also great for damaged hair.

In case you’re wondering why I’ve been emphasizing on the words “naturally curly and frizzy hair”, it’s because I think these products will work best on this kind of hair. Granted, I artificially fried my hair with chemicals but I figured it’s the same thing, right?

Wrong.

B:OCE MC’s shampoo left my hair feeling very clean. I didn’t feel like there was a film of residue coating my wet strands nor did I feel like it was stripped of moisture. This must be the work of all those natural plant proteins and sugars I was talking about.

B:OCE MC’s treatment was kind of surprising. It is very very thick….like stiff frosting in texture when I scooped some out with my fingers. I was even more surprised to learn that a little goes a LONG way.

A scant quarter sized dollop was enough for my waist length hair…and I have a lot of hair to boot.

This thick frosting-like treatment virtually melted onto my wet hair like magic. I left it on for about 3 minutes (I scooped my hair into a messy bun on my head as I washed my face and scrubbed my body) before rinsing it all off.

The B:OCE MC treatment rinses off clean without residue. I liked that.

I tried this product out for almost a full week just to get an idea of how my permed hair would react.

The Pro List

• My hair smelled great.

• My hair was SUPER soft to touch and silky in texture!
• It didn’t have that weird “crunchy” feel to it anymore.
• I could run my fingers through my hair without my fingers getting stuck.

The Con List

• My hair was kind of frizzy.

In Conclusion –

MoltoBene’s B:OCE MC Shampoo and Treatment delivered on everything except managing the frizziness produced by the perm I had gotten. The product descriptions make it clear that this is for NATURALLY OCCURRING FRIZZY, CURLY, WAVY hair.

I’m thinking that is why my frizz wasn’t completely managed. However, the results weren’t bad if I kept my hair in a bun for about 15 minutes and then released it. The perm gave my hair the giant curls I had wanted and the products kept it more or less in line.

If you have naturally curly, wavy and/or frizzy hair, give this a try. You might have better results than I did with my permed hair.

MoltoBene’s B:OCE MC products come in many sizes with refills available for select products. Remember to use coupon code BONNIE10 at checkout for 10% off your entire purchase.

Till next time!

Hello everyone! Miss Bonnified here! How are you doing this Monday? Feeling ready to tackle another work week? Yes? ….no? Need that coffee to start working pronto? I know that feeling, friend….. ^_^

Maybe I can kick your week off right with an announcement!

Hear ye! Hear ye! I have a Booty Grab to announce.

Frizzy2Silky.com has provided me with this month’s Booty Grab. In the spotlight is glotherapeutics’s gloSpa On The Go kit. It includes 1 each of the following:

• 2 oz. moisturizing body wash
• 2 oz. body cream
• 2 oz. sugar body polish
• full size mint balm
• super cute white and pink travel bag to keep all these goodies together

Seriously. How cute is this?!
Click the picture for a larger view.

This is perfect for the beauty queen who’s got people to see, things to do and places to go. As if this isn’t tasty enough, this delectable kit comes in three flavors! If you are the winner, you can have your pick of :

• Green Tea & Jasmine * mmm….I could pretend the bathroom is a spa with this scent…*
• Honey Sugar and Butter * wow…talk about smelling good enough to eat! *
• Anjou Pear and Grapefruit *if you love the sweet aroma of the mellow pear and the zing of citrus, this one’s for you! *

So here are the rules.

• 1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite beauty products are.
• 2. Cut off for this Booty Grab is 8:30 p.m. PST on August 26th, 2011.
• 3. I will randomly pick a winner and post the results on MissBonnified.com and on this blog.
• 4. All entries must be accompanied by a valid email address. If you don’t provide one, I won’t be able to contact you for your prize! I will never sell your information to anyone or any company. I will only be contacting you for your prize.
• 5. I will contact you to ask you for a mailing address. If I do not hear from you within 3 days of contact, I will pick another winner and the same rules shall apply to that new winner.

If you’re not the winner of this Booty Grab but still want to snag one of your very own, act now because this kit (valued at $36.00) is currently on sale for $19.80.

Use coupon code BONNIE10 at checkout for another 10% off!

Till next time!